falling prey to words (again)

I found some quotes.

"As for writing, it protects man from oblivion. It transports the self to those who are distant and absent."

"To write is to risk being misread or misunderstood. Words that survive their author are cut loose. They drift, take new shape, sprout new meanings. And there is always their ordinary ambiguity."

--Ibn Khaldun, 14th-century historian.

These quotes and two other fragile constellations of sound are at the front of a book I just bought. (Yes, I gave into temptation and entered a bookstore. I left weighed down with three books for my transgressions.)

I'jaam: an iraqi rhapsody by Sinan Antoon.

I'll let you know how it goes. I picked it up once before in a bookstore in Atlanta but time and lack of money dragged me away and I set it down after browsing the first few hundred words. This time I did not escape its grasp.

I also found two other books -- one about the development of the autocratic state in Ethiopia and the other about poems written by prisoners in Guantanamo which made my thoughts whirlwind for a few moments before I even opened it. I am going to give it to a friend -- one of those people that understands the value of words that escape from locked rooms.

I also went into a bookstore yesterday -- the Strand in New York -- where they have 18 miles of books! It seems quite humble from the outside...I got trapped there as well, falling prey to the political science 50% off shelf. I managed to escape from the random works of fiction that were launching themselves off the shelves at me. One hit me in the throat but after battling with its first couple pages, my fingers forced into my friend's hand who proved more resistant and calmly set it down on a nearby cart before asking me if I had finished browsing and perhaps it was time to go.....